Eddie Merlot’s

Great meal, service! Had a business dinner there and it was an all around great time. Tried a couple new appetizers. May have found a new «go to» in the bbq shrimp. Huge, fresh shrimp wrapped in bacon cooked perfectly with an amazing sauce. Calamari was very good, even the tortilla like bowel it was served in. Filet mignonette potstickers while good were only a bronze medalist.
Entrees were great. The salmon & sea bass got top marks. The rib eyes were perfectly cooked and devoured (not a lot of red meat cooked at home these days). Parmesan truffle fries, brussel sprouts, mushrooms as sides were very good.
Wine service was excellent as we had a couple of gurus with us that know their stuff.
All were stuffed but waitress talked us into carrot cake to share. It was huge — big enough for all to have more than we needed.
Expensive but worth it…

We stopped by after a graduation ceremony for an early dinner. The salads were very good and the bread was moist and delicious. We had the buffalo filet and filet mignon and they were buttery. Well worth the price!

Another wonderful meal at Eddie Merlot. It was a beautiful evening, so we decided to dine outside. We started out meal with shrimp cocktail, beef carpaccio, and filet potstickers. I feel that Eddie Merlots has the best beef carpaccio I have ever eaten. I had only previously dined on this at the Louisville location and Indy did not disappoint. We followed this with chopped salads all around.
Two ribeyes were ordered, stroganoff and my typical the trio of medallions. Was it perfect, no but what was wrong was immediately remedied by the staff. My trio was ordered medium rare and they were served medium well with one bordering on well. They had great flavor but I, of course, had orders these medium rare. The server, Daniel, took care of this with another entire meal, these prepared medium rare. The ribeyes were perfectly prepared and as usual my husband was very pleased. Additionally, we choose Eddie potatoes, lobster mac and cheese and Brussels sprouts.
Service was great from both our server, Daniel and the management that stopped by the table twice.

Flat iron steak. No. Atho it came with a side and a salad. But prime rib … Never in my life tasted a better steak and Better then st. Elmos even. Yep! Oh my … Yum

Fantastic. Spicy Asian shrimp is a tasty and well presented appetizer. 16 oz ribeye w/​bernaise sauce was more enjoyable than any Harry & Izzys, St Elmo’s, or Ruth’s Chris steak I’ve had. Great side dishes. Peach and apple a la mode… very tasty. Can’t wait to go back.

Good stuff. Love the food and bar here. If you live nearby, ask about the wine club. The wine guy here runs it himself and he freakin knows what he’s doing unlike most of the online wine clubs. The food is always first rate. Especially the apps, salads and sides. Better than most for sure. The steaks are good but so is every other steak house at this price point. The sea bass is exceptional.

One of the best restaurants in Indianapolis for good food, great service and the absolute best steak ever. The chef never fails to deliver the best quality and most tender steak.

Ok, so firsts things first, we normally love Eddies and I am a platinum member, but the last 3 times we have been it has prompted me to write about it. I don’t know what’s going I here but something needs to change ASAP. My wife and I went for Valentines 2016 and were told the only time they could get us in was 4:30. When we arrived the place was maybe half packed. No big deal, but certainly raises a concern. So we decided to go with the Valentines special which was $ 119 for 1 app to share, a salad, one meat and a side to share and a dessert. I went with the 12oz strip, which was an additional $ 10 so make that $ 129 and my wife went with the filet. App and salad were great and then we got our steaks. I ordered my strip medium rare and it came out close to well. They took it back but left my wife’s steak and our side on the table to get cold while they remade my steak. 15 minutes later they brought my steak and didn’t offer to warm our sides or my wife’s steak, we had to ask for a new side. After dinner we ordered coffee (almost $ 6 per cup) and when the waiter poured my coffee about 50 grounds came out in the cup and he literally looked at it and walked away.
So here is the deal Eddie Merlots, we didn’t spend $ 300 because your food is the best, we spend that kind of money because you are supposed to have the best service there is! End of story! The manager (Marcus) said he would take care of our dessert but after the bill came, still got charged. They said that because we ordered the valentines meal they couldn’t comp us! LOL! Really? To top this all off, the recommended gratuity in the bill includes the taxes. You can’t make this crap up. So, in the end we got a $ 40 bottle of wine for $ 100, 2 $ 35 dollar steaks and potatoes for $ 129 and 2 cups of coffee with grounds in them for $ 11 AND when we left we have the valet ticket to the host and they pointed outside and said «you have to get them yourself»
Sorry but this is not a 5 star, 4 star or even 3 star restaurant. After maybe 4 years of coming here we will never be returning. Ocean Prime will now be our date night place of choice. Next time someone spends $ 300 for a meal, TAKE CARE OF THEM!

Reservation at 715. Didn’t get our salads till 8:45. Dinner finished at 10:15. 3hr meal is way to long. Food mediocre. Server was nice. Very friendly.
Probably our last visit to Eddies.

Favorite part of the meal: Merlot Iceberg w/​Ranch and Crème Brulee. I wasn’t impressed with the steak or sides. The filet was cooked as requested, the mashed potatoes were bland, and the broccoli crowns weren’t doused in butter or anything spectacular. But the service was great.

We have only been once but everything was through the roof above what we expected. Food was great, service was great since it was our first time, and the décor was very charming for my wife and I to visit. Would eat here more often if the price point wasn’t so high. The guest check average has to at least be in the forty to fifty dollar range. Will be back again though for our next special occasion.

As we finished our main course. I was thinking these guys get a 4 star review (steaks were cooked just right), but then our desert came (sea salt chocolate cupcake) and it came with a small glass of milk — perfect ending. All around good experience and I like that they are kid friendly also — coming back with ours.

This was my 2^nd time dining at an Eddie Merlot’s restaurant. My other experience was in Columbus. I am NOT a fan of chain restaurants and I am excruciatingly hard on them because I think independent businesses go above and beyond what they do. Anyway, this place is GREAT. No two ways about it. Absolutely killer gorgonzola-​crusted filet. Perfectly cooked. Spinach salad with maple vinaigrette was served the perfect temperature and the flavors worked. Ghost Pines Zin has always been a fave wine of mine so we chose that. Service was impeccable and attentive. How does this place compare to Morton’s, Hyde Park, or Ruth’s Chris? Not quite as stuffy of an atmosphere. How does it compare to St. Elmo’s? Don’t even ask. Nothing compares to a steak dinner and evening at St. Elmo’s, fool.

Ok. So this restaurant is marketed towards the same people who go to Mortons, Capital Grill, St Elmo’s or Ruth Chris.
So you’ll be spending a pretty penny to eat here, let’s break down what you’ll get for your money.
Food– my wife ordered the filet mignon, I ordered the pound of snow crab legs. This place gets props for having such a wide array of seafood and red meat, but I would rather go to a place that specializes and does whatever they do really really well when I’m spending this sort of money than go to a place that diversifies but doesn’t quite hit the mark. The filet was decent, but not melt in your mouth pudding like you can get at St Elmo’s. Some of the crab was very good, and some of it had a very fishy unpleasant taste.
The wedge salad was excellent, as were the steamed veggies.
Alcohol–
Good wine selection, maybe better than elsewhere, and a good variation from $ 40 bottles to $ 200 bottles, so you’ll be sure to find something within your price range.
Ambiance–
A little hoity toity if you ask me. I prefer the understated elegance of Mortons or St Elmo’s, but if you’re looking for fancy schmancy, this is the place for you.
Service–
Also pretty hoity toity. I think the best service I’ve ever had at one of these places was at Capital Grill. I hate feeling judged for getting too many crumbs on their white table cloth, and please stop rearranging my napkin for me every chance you get!
All in all, good food, great wine menu, decent ambiance, less than satisfactory service.
Hopefully this helps you decide if this is the restaurant for you!

This is one of our favorite restaurants in the area and definitely our go-​to place for a special occasion or when we want to treat ourselves after a long, difficult week at work. We always get great service and food, and I like that, when we arrive, they always ask if we’re there celebrating something. If the answer is yes, they always wish us well and offer a free dessert. We are made feel special when there for a special occasion such as a birthday or anniversary.
Some of our favorites are steak, mac & cheese, lobster bisque, and French onion soup. And the wine list!

Compared to other high-​end steakhouses, Eddie Merlot’s falls short. At least to the ones I’ve been to. If I’m going to pay that much for a meal, it better be amazing. EM’s is just okay.
Now I’ll disclose that I did not pay for this meal. I was here for a presentation, which also means a limited menu. I’ll start with the appetizers, a caprese salad type of kabob (I didn’t even see this on their regular menu) and a flat bread with some zucchini, cheese, and tomatoes on it. Well, you can’t really mess up caprese, but the flat bread was… odd. Not crisp, but not soft either. I don’t know how to describe it. Flimsy. It just didn’t seem right.
Next was the wedge salad. I’d never pay $ 8.50 for a wedge of lettuce topped with cheese, dressing, and bacon bits. That’s really all it is. Nothing special here. The bread, however, was outstanding! Probably the best part of the whole meal. Crispy on the outside with some great seasoning, but oh so soft on the inside. I could have eaten that whole loaf. But I didn’t. I shared.
For the main course it was the filet, mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli. The steamed broccoli is just that. There’s nothing else done to it. I can steam broccoli at home, it’ll turn out exactly the same. The mashed potatoes were sub-​par. They were pretty dry. Definitely nothing to write home about. Not even in the same league as Ruth’s mashed potatoes.
The steak was pretty good, though over-​cooked for how I ordered it, and a little too char-​grilled in some areas. It did have a nice flavor to it, but again just wasn’t on the level of other high-​end steakhouses I’ve been to. Plus I feel that a high-​end steakhouse should cook their steaks perfectly, every time. If I can do it, surely a professional chef can!
Last but not least, the cheesecake, which I took to go. They give you half of a strawberry, one raspberry, and one blueberry with it. Okay. I’m still confused about that one. But anyway, the cheesecake was pretty good.
If you’re going to spend this kind of money on a meal, go down the street to Ruth’s Chris. EM’s would be fine if it were a lower price point, but at these prices, you can do much better elsewhere.

Exceptional service, food, and wine. I felt like the service could have been a bit better. It seems the regulars around us were receiving more attention than us but overall great experience.

This is difficult to write, because I’ve always been a huge fan of Eddie’s, but last night was sub-​par. Granted, it was Christmas Eve and things were busy, but This restaurant broke one of my Cardinal rules: When I make an 8:00 reservation, that means you have my table ready when I get there at 8. It DOESN’T mean that at 8:00, you put my name on the «wait» list. Major screw-​up, people. I expect that at a cheap casual dining restaurant, but not at a fine dining restaurant where I’m likely to drop $ 400 on a family meal. We were eventually seated at 8:30, but what’s worse is that we didn’t get seated until I complained at 8:25. I have no doubt we would have stood there until 10pm if I hadn’t said something, even though your hostesses glanced at us several times. You basically forgot about us in plain sight.
The food quality was outstanding, as usual. The best steak anywhere, in my opinion. But, you’re getting two stars due to incompetence. Sorry, but 8:00 means 8:00. There were plenty of tables. Your hostesses were just too busy gabbing and texting their boyfriends.

It is not my first time coming to Eddie Merlot… the Fort Wayne location was great visit a few years back. Last night’s visit was NOT the case.
I was excited that my best friend had invited me to dinner a few days prior at EM for my birthday dinner. She told me to meet her at EM at 6:30pm. I was a little fuzzy about the details as my phone had died in the middle of listening to her voicemail a few hours prior and would it sounded like she had made a reservation for 6:30pm, I was not sure. I arrived early at 6:00pm and could not reach her. Since I was not sure if she had made a reservation, I assumed the worst and asked the hostess for a table for two. The hostess laughed at my inquiry, then said she did not have a table until 8pm but could put us at the bar. I was thinking… ok sorry for not having a reservation, not sure why being rude is ok… I replied that I needed to wait until my party arrived. I felt uncomfortable with the hostess, so I went back to wait for my friend in my car. I really did not want to go back in but my friend wanted steak.
My friend had not shown up at 6:30pm, which is highly unlike her. So I after waiting about 6:45pm, I went back in to see if she had made a reservation and was already in. I forgot I had not checked to see if she was listed. Went back in and asked the same hostess who replied, «Nope, nice try!» «Nice try???», I replied. «I’m not TRYING anything but locating my party with a phone!» So mad, I left, knowing that I did not want to eat at this location EVER. My friend would eat steak somewhere else, no matter what she would have said to me.
The EM valet was nice. I was not going back in, so I asked after waiting so more, I asked the valet men if this was the only Indy location, which they replied it was. He offered to have me wait in the warm for my party and have a drink at the bar. Thanks, but your host killed my vibe.
My friend arrived at 7ish. She stated she had called earlier and was told rudely by the hostess there were not reservations being taken. I told her I would not like to eat there, point blank! My friend still has to go to back to EM for dinning in the near future as she had obtained gift cards just to treat me. But I do not eat where the hostess can not perform their job without being rude and being disrespectful to customers. The host is the front line and their greeting sets the tone for the ENTIRE place. Thus, the hostess showcase how the cook and serve staff will be like. As a result, I felt like «no thanks», I do not want to find out how the rest of the staff will treat me!
I take responsibility for no reservation being made, even though I was the guest in my situation. My friend should have booked a table prior to our arrival. But a simple «I’m sorry, we do not have any openings until 8pm» and «I’m sorry, that name is not listed tonight» from the hostess in a professional, non-​condemned tone would have been nice. I know I’m a little-​old-​nobody, but I AM someone who deserves to be treated with kindness. I was a potential customer, but I will not be back to this location. We took our money (spend the same amount we planned to at EM, about $ 100 – 120) and ate somewhere else.
EM, my suggestion is to please assist your Hostess in improving their people skills to become more customer service mindful. Seems like the Valet got it down.

The cedar plank salmon I had her was outstanding.
Everyone in my party received an excellent meal.
The staff was top notch. Very very informed.
I look forward to eating here again, as it has been awhile since Ive been there.